Government of Saskatchewan Western Red Lilies


Caron No. 162

Geography

The Rural Municipality (RM) of Caron #162 begins just 12 kilometres (kms) west of the City of Moose Jaw. The TransCanada Highway (#1) passes through the center of the municipality while Provincial Highway #363 serves the southeast. The Canadian Pacific main line runs through the RM parallel to the TransCanada Highway.

History
The RM of Caron was first a CPR siding in 1882, named in honor of Sir Adolphe Caron, then Canadian Minister of Militia and Defense. The municipality started as Local Improvement District (L.I.D.) #9 in 1904 and became a RM in 1912.

The Hamlet of Caron, is located 26 kms from Moose Jaw in the center of the RM. Caron became a thriving trading centre and was incorporated as a town July 16, 1906. Several major fires, the depression, improved transportation, and population trends reduced Caron from a town to a village to an Organized Hamlet in 1978. Today, Caron is a community of 50 families. A twenty-minute drive makes commuting to Moose Jaw a breeze, and many do this daily.

Economic Information
Approximately 520 people live in the RM, including the Hamlet of Caron. The main economic activity is agriculture, with farms producing cereal grains, oilseeds, and pulse crops, dairy barns, and ranches with herds of cattle, sheep, and bison. Small businesses include an auto body repair shop, a farm equipment repair shop, a poultry processing plant, and several small seed cleaning operations.

TransCanada Pipelines operates a natural gas pumping station, employing between twelve and fifteen people and is, by far, the largest taxpayer in the municipality.

Attractions
Besant Park Campground and Recreation Area, 6 kms west of Caron along the TransCanada Highway, offers 37 electric campsites, 43 non-electric campsites, and over 80 picnic spots and hosts such annual summer attractions as the Old Time Fiddlers' Jamboree and a Gospel Jamboree.

Other Info
Children from the RM and the Hamlet attend schools at Mortlach, Caronport, or Moose Jaw.

The RM and the Village of Caronport co-operate in providing fire protection to the municipality and surrounding communities with two pumper trucks and a rescue unit through an 18-member volunteer fire department.

The Village of Caronport, 3 kms from the Hamlet of Caron, offers motel, restaurant, fuel, confectionary, auto repair, bookstore, and ice rink facilities.




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